Boat wheeling attachment



8 22, 1967 J. w. RAYMOND 3,3327 22 BOAT WHEELING ATTACHMENT Filed June14v 1965 2 5heets-$hei 1 ENVENTOR. 49 JERRY W. RAYMOND Aug. 22, 1967 J.w. RAYMOND BOAT WHEELING ATTACHMENT Filed June 14, 1965 2 Sheets-SheetINVENTOR, JERRY W. RAYMOND ATTORNEY.

United States Patent G 3,337,229 BOAT WHEELING ATTACHMENT Jerry W.Raymond, 1102 Crescent St., Wenatchee, Wash. 98801 Filed June 14, 1965,Ser. No. 463,774 Claims. (Cl. 28047.32)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Clamps onto a side or the rear transom of anupside down boat. The clamp has one non-movable and one movable clampplate. Two L-shaped clamp brackets are secured to the non-movable clampplate. Two clamp screws are threaded through the brackets and thernovable clamp plate is carried by the inner end of these screws. Theupper end of a fork is rigidly but adjustably secured to the non-movableclamp plate and a wheel is journaled in this fork.

My invention relates to a boat wheeling attachment which is quickly andeasily attached to and detached from a small boat to make possible easymovement of the boat on land and an object of my present invention is toimprove and simplify the construction of boat Wheeling attachments ofthe general type disclosed in my two prior Patents No. 3,101,230 and No.3,159,410.

In applying boat wheeling devices to small boats it is usually desirableto turn the boat upside down and attach the wheeling devices either tothe side walls or to the rear end wall or transom of the boat. Theinclines or angles of the walls of small boats are not uniform but saidwalls are flared and curved and inclined at various angles and an objectof this invention is to provide a boat wheeling attachment which isuniversally applicable to substantially all small boats regardless ofthe shape and incline of the walls and regardless of whether it isapplied to longitudinally extending side walls or to transverselyextending rear or transom walls.

Another object of my invention is to provide a boat Wheeling attachmentcomprising a wheel rotatively mounted in a wheel bracket or fork and aclamp member connected with said wheel bracket in such a manner that itcan be adjusted about two axes at right angles to each other, one axisof adjustment normally being generally upright and the other axisnormally being generally horizontal when the wheeling attachment is applied to and supporting a boat, said two axes of adjustment making itpossible, while keeping the wheel in a substantially vertical planewhich is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the boat, toapply the clamp to differently positioned and differently inclined sidewalls and end walls of the boat.

Other objects of my invention will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation of my boat wheeling attachment showingthe same attached to the side of a boat, a fragment of the boat beingshown in section.

FIG. 2 is a side view looking in the direction indicated by broken line22 of FIG. 1, the side of the boat being omitted.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the clamp part of theattachment adjusted to a diiferent position and applied to the boat in adifferent manner than it is in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on brokenline 4-4 of FIG. 2 but with the clamp and fork parts of the attachmentadjusted, rela- "ice tive to each other, into a different position fromthe position in which they are shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, with parts in section, looking in thedirection indicated by broken line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a somewhat diagrammatic fragmentary side elevation, on areduced scale, showing one of my attachments applied to the transom of aboat.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the attachment applied to theside wall of a boat.

FIG. 8 is a view in elevation showing a modified and simplified form ofmy boat wheeling attachment.

FIG. 9 is a view in elevation looking in the direction indicated bybroken line 99 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section takensubstantially on broken line 1010 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an adapter board capable of use with myboat wheeling attachment to make possible application of the attachmentto a boat in a right side up position.

FIG. 12 is a somewhat diagrammatic reduced scale view illustrative ofthe use of said adapter board in applying my boat wheeling attachment toa boat in a right side up position.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

The boat wheeling attachment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 and 12 comprises afiat rectangular metal frame plate 20 having the edge portion thereofwhich is shown lowermost in FIGS. 1 to 4 bent at right angles to form aflange 21. Two parallel spaced apart clamp brackets 22 and 23, of thetype commonly called C-clamps, are welded or otherwise rigidly securedto the flange 21 and are positioned near the respective lateral edges ofthe base plate 20 in planes perpendicular to the plane of said baseplate 20. Two clamp screws 24 and 25 are threaded through the terminalportions of the outermost arms of the respective clamp brackets 22 and23. The usual transverse slidable bar-type hand hold members 26 areprovided in the outer end portions of the clamp screws 24 and 25. Theinner ends of both clamp screws 24 and 25 are permanently connected, bysuitable attachment members 27, with a flat clamping plate 29. Themembers 27 provide a loose connection between the screws 24 and 25 andthe clamping plate 29 so that said clamping plate is self adjusting,within reasonable limits and will lie flatly against surfaces of varyingincline to which it is applied.

A flat wood block 30 of substantial thickness is secured as by screws37, FIG. 4, to the frame plate 20 and provides a surface which can beclamped against a part of a boat without objectionably marring the partagainst which it is clamped. The edge of the block 30 nearest the flange21 is spaced a substantial distance from said flange 21 to provide arecess 31 for the reception of the gunwale portion of a boat, ashereinafter explained.

Two axially aligned, spaced apart tubular members 32 are welded orotherwise rigidly secured to the external corner portion of the frameformed by plate 20 and flange 21 with the axis common to said tubularmembers 32 oifset transversely relative to the plane of the outersurface of the frame plate 20, for reasons hereinafter explained. A nut33, which serves as an internally threaded boss, is welded to the outerside of each tubular member 32 and a set screw 34, preferably ofrecessed head type, is threaded through each nut 33 and extends througha suitable hole in the tubular member 32 and can be jammed against acylindrical rod 35 which extends through both tubular members 32. Theset screws 34 lock the tubular members 32 and rod 35 together and at thesame time allow for relative rotative adjustment of said tubular members32 and rod 35. Preferably a reinforcing plate or gusset 36 is weldedbetween each tubular member 3 32 and the frame plate 2%. This gusset 32can also be welded to the adjacent nut 33.

A fork mounting member composed of two tubes 39 and 40 is adjustablysupported from the rod 35. The two tubes 39 and 40 are rigidly attachedtogether in relatively crossed relation at right angles to each otherand the normally upright tube 39 is longer than the normally horizontaltube 40'. Said shorter tube 40 is mounted on the rod 35 between the twotubular members 32 and is rigidly secured to said rod 35, see FIG. 4, bya screw 41 which is threaded through a nut 42 that is welded to andforms a rigid boss on the tube 40 and seats in a suitable indentation inthe rod 35.

The longer, normally upright tube 39 adjustably supports a fork. Thefork comprises two side by side parallel wheel mounting bars 43 havingtheir upper end portions rigidly connected with each other by a crossmember 44 and having an upwardly extending shank 45 rigid with saidcross member 44 and received within the tube 39. Preferably the shank45, FIG. 4, extends through a suitable hole in the cross member 44 andis welded to said cross member by Weld 48. Screws 46, preferably two innumber, are threaded through nuts 47 which are welded to and form bossesrigid with the tube 39. These screws 46 serve as means for adjustablylocking the shank 45 to the tube 39. A wheel 49 is rotatively supportedby the bars 43.

In the use of the boat wheeling attachment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 one ofthe devices can be attached to the rear end wall or transom T of a boatB, as shown in FIG. 6, with the boat in an up side down position and theboat can easily be wheeled and balanced by one person who supports theforward end of the boat and moves it as desired. When one of myattachments is thus applied to the transom T of a boat the frame plate20 will be parallel to the transom T and the wheel 49 will be positionedso that it is in a plane generally parallel to the length of the boatand at right angles to the plane of the frame plate 29 and transom T.

The shapes and inclines of the sides of boats vary widely in differentboats and at different locations in the same boats and the provision forrelative adjustment of the two parts of my device about two differentaxes at substantially right angles to each other, that is about the axisof the rod 35 and the axis of the fork shank 45, makes it possible toapply two of these wheeling attachments at al most any desired locationto the respective side walls of substantially any small boat with thewheels 49 of each device correctly positioned in an upright planeparallel to the length of the boat for most eflicient operation.

FIGS. 1 and 3 and FIG. 7 show one of my attachments applied to aninclined side wall 51 of a boat. In FIGS. 1 and 7 the clamp-screws areon the outer side of the boat and in FIG. 3 they are in engagement withthe inner surface of the side wall 51. In both FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 theclamp and fork parts are adjusted relative to each other so the wheel 49stands in a vertical plane parallel to the length of the boat.Positioning the axis of the rod 35 outwardly from the plane of the frameplate 20 allows for the relative angular adjustment between the forkmeans and the clamp means as shown in FIG. 1. If the attachment shown inFIGS. 1 to 7 is to be applied to a boat in a right side up position thenit is used in connection with an adapter board 60 of the form shown inFIGS. 11 and 12 and hereinafter described.

FIGS. 8, 9 and show a modified and simplified form of my invention inwhich the parts to 31 inclusive of a clamp and the parts 43, 44 and 45of a fork member, carrying a wheel 49, are duplicates of those shown inFIGS. 1 to 7 and are similarly numbered. In this modified form of theattachment the means which makes possible relative adjustment of theclamp part and the fork part on the normally horizontal axis which isprovided by the rod 35 of FIGS. 1 to 7 is omitted and a tubular member55 is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the outer side of the frameplate 20. The tubular member 55 is positioned mid way between the twolateral edges of the frame plate 24 and is perpendicular to the flange21. At least one and preferably two set screws 56, each threaded througha rigidly attached nut 57, which forms a boss, are provided to lock thefork shank 45 against rotation in the tubular member 55.

The clamp of FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 can be applied to the transom or to theside walls of a boat in the manner previously described and the forkmember adjusted so that the wheel 49 is in a plane generally parallel tothe length of the boat for either transom or side wall application ofthe attachment. If the attachment is applied to a flared side wall thewheel 49 will not stand vertical but will be substantially parallel tothe side wall and can be used in this way.

The application of either form of boat wheeling attachment hereindisclosed to a small boat B, FIG. 12, in a right side up position ismade possible by providing an adapter member or plate in the form of afairly strong board of FIG. 11, in the order of two feet long and eightinches wide. One end portion of a boat B in a right side up position maybe supported from the gunwale strips 52 on either its side Walls or itstransom by placing the upper ends of two boards 60, if applied to theside walls, or either one or two boards 60, if applied to the transom,under the gunwale strips 52, applying at least one and preferably twoC-clamps 61 to the upper end portion of each board 6% and the wall ofthe boat against which it lies to hold the board in place and applying awheeling attachment to the lower end of each board. Preferably the upperend portion of each board 60 has spaced apart longitudinal slots or sawcuts 62 therein to render it more flexible in transverse directions soit will be more conformable to the longitudinal curvature of curved boatsides and can be clamped more tightly against them. Also preferably twospaced apart parallel strips 63 are secured to the side of the board 60which is normally innermost near the lower end of said board andadjacent the lateral edges of the board. The strips receive therebetweeneither the clamping block 30 or the frame plate 20, it being understoodthat the clamping block 30 can be omitted. Also preferably a thin layer64 of flexible waterproof plywood is permanently secured by waterproofglue to the outermost side of the board 60 and two hook like members 65each having end members 66 which book over the gunwale strips 52 areadjustably secured to the board 60 by bolts 69 which extend throughlongitudinal slots 67 in the members 65 for adjustment of said members65. An end portion of one member 65 is broken away in FIG. 11.

Two of the attachments illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 7 are shown in FIG. '12but it will be understood that the attachment shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10may be used with the boards 60 in a similar manner.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclosepreferred embodiments of my invention but it will be understood thatchanges may be made within the spirit of this disclosure and the scopeof the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. A readily attachable and detachable boat wheeling attachmentcomprising a fork member; a wheel rotatively mounted in said forkmember; an upwardly extending axial shank on said fork member; a tubularmember rotatively receiving said shank; a frame plate positioned alongside of and secured to said tubular member; two parallel spaced apartclamp brackets rigid with said frame plate and extending outwardly froman edge of the frame plate and back over the frame plate in spacedrelation from said frame plate, said tubular member being positionedapproximately mid way between said two clamp brackets; a clamp screwthreaded through the terminal portion of each clamp bracket andextending toward the transom of a boat.

2. A readily attachable and detachable boat wheeling attachmentcomprising a fork member; a wheel rotatively mounted in said forkmember; an upwardly extending axial shank on said fork member; a tubularmember adapted to receive said shank; means operable to lock said shankand said tubular member together in different positions of rotativeadjustment relative to each other; a frame plate positioned alongside ofand secured to said tubular member; an edge flange perpendicular to andrigid with and extending across the end of said frame plate nearest saidfork member means positioned adjacent said flange adjustably attachingsaid tubular shank receiving member to said frame plate, said meansproviding for tilting adjustment of said tubular shank receiving membertoward and away from the frame plate; two parallel spaced apart clampbrackets rigid with and extending outwardly from the frame plate andflange acros the flange and back over the frame plate in spaced relationfrom the frame plate; a clamp screw threaded through the terminalportion of each clamp bracket and extending toward the frame plate; anda clamp plate loosely connected with the inner ends of the two clampscrews and exending across the frame plate in opposed clamping relationto the frame plate.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which a nonmetallic face plateof substantial thickness is secured to said frame plate on the sidethereof facing said clamp screws, the edge of said face plate adjacentsaid flange being spaced a substantial distance outwardly from saidflange thereby providing a gunwale receiving recess between the flangeand the adjacent edge of the face plate.

4. A readily attachable and detachable boat wheeling attachmentcomprising a fork member; a wheel rotatively mounted in said forkmember; an upwardly extending axial shank on said fork member; a tubularmember adjustably receiving said shank; means operable to lock saidshank and said tubular member together in different positions ofrotative adjustment relative to each other; a frame plate positionedalongside of said tubular member; an edge flange perpendicular to andrigid with and extending across the end of said frame plate nearest saidfork member, said frame plate and edge flange forming a corner at thelocation where they are joined; a mounting rod extending across androtatively adjustably secured to said frame plate and flange adjacentand parallel to said corner; means rigidly securing said tubular memberto said mounting rod with the tubular member extending across saidmounting rod approximately at right angles thereto, whereby adjustmentis provided between said frame plate and flange and said fork memberabout two axes approximately at right angles to each other; two parallelspaced apart clamp brackets extending outwardly from the frame plateacross the flange and back over the frame plate in spaced relation fromthe frame plate; a clamp screw threaded through the terminal portion ofeach clamp bracket and extending toward the frame plate; and a clampplate connected with the inner ends of the two clamp screws andextending across the frame plate.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which two spaced apartmounting rod supporting tubes are rigidly secured to the frame plate andflange and rotatively adjustably support said mounting rod and in whichsaid mounting rod extends through and is rigidly attached to a crosstube which is rigidly secured to and extends crosswise of the tubularmember.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,101,203 8/ 1963 Raymond.3,159,410 12/1964 Raymond. 3,170,708 2/1965 Miller 280-47.32

FOREIGN PATENTS 12,367 1908 Great Britain.

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

J. A. PEKAR, Assistant Examiner.

1. A READILY ATTACHABLE AND DETACHABLE BOAT WHEELING ATTACHMENTCOMPRISING A FORK MEMBER; A WHEEL ROTATIVELY MOUNTED IN SAID FORKMEMBER; AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING AXIAL SHANK ON SAID FORK MEMBER; A TUBULARMEMBER ROTATIVELY RECEIVING SAID SHANK; A FRAME PLATE POSITIONED ALONGSIDE OF AND SRCURED TO SAID TUBULAR MEMBER; TWO PARALLEL SPACED APARTCLAMP BRACKETS RIGID WITH SAID FRAME PLATE AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROMAN EDGE OF THE FRAME PLATE AND BACK OVER THE FRAME PLATE IN SPACEDRELATION FROM SAID FRAME PLATE, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER BEING POSITIONEDAPPROXIMATELY MID WAY BETWEEN SAID TWO CLAMP BRACKETS; A CLAMP SCREWTHREADED THROUGH THE TERMINAL PORTION OF EACH CLAMP BRACKET ANDEXTENDING TOWARD THE